Its Time to Pedal to Paris

Starting at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester on 16 July and finishing in Paris on 23 July, Chris Boardman will be joined by multi-Olympic medallist and UK Sport chair Katherine Grainger and a host of other high-profile participants.

Pedal for Paris references not just the host city for this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics but also the Paris Agreement, the landmark international treaty on climate change signed in December 2015.

The aim of the ride is to urge greater action to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and encourage our sector to accelerate action in pursuit of this goal.

It follows the launch of Every Move, Sport England's ambitious strategy to promote environmental sustainability, including more than £40 million of new funding to promote green innovation and participation, and helping sport and physical activity organisations become more resilient to climate change.

Climate change is here, impacting our ability to be active, with 3 in 5 people in England saying severe weather is already negatively affecting their sport and physical activity levels. 

You can't play football on a waterlogged pitch, cycle all day in 40-degree heat, or volunteer at an event if you’re cut off by flooding. These things are already happening and to prevent them getting worse, we have to act and quickly. But who’s going to lead? 

Sport England is doing its part, earlier this year launching the most ambitious environmental strategy the sector has ever seen. But how do we grow the movement, at the pace the crisis demands?  

Sport and physical activity is already at the very heart of our communities, organisations large and small that bring health and fellowship into our lives. Who better then to unite us in common cause and show a nation just what can be done. 

To help bring topical focus to the mission, Sport England’s Chair, Chris Boardman will make the most ecologically friendly journey possible, to the start of the biggest sporting event on the planet, The Olympics. Pedal for Paris will be an epic, eight-day bike ride from the home of cycling in Manchester to the French capital, visiting some inspirational and innovative sporting and grassroots projects along the way.  

To turn each revolution of the pedals into tangible action, on route, the group will gather commitments from community sports clubs and organisations in the form of Going for Green Pledges, commitments to become more environmentally sustainable. 

Sign the pledge here: www.pedalforparis.org